The Book of Revelation and the Coronavirus - John Hosier
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It feels as though we are living in a different world. The time when we were living our normal lives may only have been days ago but it seems more like years. I tweeted very recently that we might be getting rather over excited and silly about the Coronavirus. That now seems like a cheap shot; although I was responding to the early loo role panic and the obsession with gathering pasta. But this is serious and it's changing all our lives. I can see myself emerging from this crisis (if I do) as a kind of mega DIY champion as I survey the list of jobs around the house and the time now available to do them. Some things will change for us permanently. For reasons too boring to write about we have already changed our Supermarket after 9 years shopping at the previous one and probably won't change back. I wonder what our churches will look like on the other side of what some seem to view as the coming Apocalypse? Again, there may be much that will never be the same again. I find myself navigating around a new App called Hangouts to keep in touch with my small group, I'm wondering if we will just be waving through the window to greet our family and already I'm having to resist asking my wife, 'What will we be eating this evening?' as that meal seems to become an elevated highlight in the quiet days of non events!
What does the Bible say? Cranky commentators are out in force. Have you heard the one about Believers being kept Coronavirus free by the blood of Christ? It won't be long before some of them are changing their minds through experience! As my son Matthew preached recently if you study history you will find Christians have often died in times of plague because while non Believers have fled, Believers have run towards the plague to care for the sick and dying, then caught it themselves to die as well. But their running towards the plague was motivated by what the Bible taught about love and about eternity.
In times like those we are living through Christians often turn to the Book of Revelation to see what might be written there to give some insight into the current crisis. Does the Book of Revelation tell us about the Coronavirus? The answer, I would suggest is both 'yes' and 'no'. The attempt to fix an event in history precisely onto a verse in Revelation is fraught with difficulty. What one person sees as the verse that describes that particular event is what another will see as describing another event in history. We can't turn to Revelation and say that verse is the Coronavirus. On the other hand Revelation does give us a general overview of the sort of events that do happen across history. This is particularly true of the three sets of 7; the 7 seals, the 7 trumpets and the 7 bowls of wrath. Read through those and what we see happening during the course of history includes; war, civil war, famine, plague, persecution of Believers, fires, shipwrecks, pollution of fresh water and individuals suffering with acute depression. Yes, that's the kind of world we live in. You'll see the reference there to plague and we live in a world that has passed through the Black Death, cholera outbreaks, the Spanish flu of 1918, AIDS and yes, the Coronavirus. So what is happening now fits into that general description. It's a serious epidemic, people are dying, but there is nowhere near the loss of life as has been seen during other 'plagues' in world history.
In Revelation 8 and 9 we read of the sounding of 6 of the 7 trumpets. Commentators suggest that we should understand these trumpets as sounding warnings to an unbelieving world. The trumpets blow and there are fires (think of Australia included in that), and there are shipwrecks (think Titanic and ferry disasters) and so on. People are caught up in these things and sometimes we know people who are caught up in these things. The trumpets blow and warn us to be alert to the fact that our lives are fragile. We can be caught out by the totally unexpected and our life could be gone. What are we doing in response to that? Are we considering the reality of death and how we stand before God? Well right now the trumpets are blowing; people are panicking, people are afraid, people are trying to avoid disease and death. So in a way this is an opportunity for the church. Now is when people may be more open to hearing the gospel then they are usually. The trumpets are sounding.
However, we cannot ignore the seriousness of Rev. 9:20,21. The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshipping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood - idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. So the crisis passes and what happens? The survivors revert back to their old sinful ways - they ignore the warning of the trumpets. The Coronavirus will pass and it may leave long term damage, but survivors will forget the blowing of the trumpet and return to their old ways. So the importance for the church of this day of opportunity.
But what of our reaction if we are Believers? It shouldn't be to have funny ideas about our immunity to the virus. Believers will die of this disease (remember that the original whistle blower who died in China was a Christian doctor). However, it is not for us to fear death. Revelation also said this to Believers who were facing intense persecution; ...they did not love their lives so much to as to shrink from death. (12:11). Life is good for many of us, but right now we can fear for ourselves and feel vulnerable too. Especially so, if like me, you are bracketed in the 'at risk' age group or have underlying health issues. But good as life may be, it is not actually the best. It is not for us to love our lives so much that we are desperate not to die. Paul puts it like this in Philippians 1:23. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.
In Revelation 7 there is a passage between the opening of the 6th and 7th seals that describes the security of the church during times of trouble upon the earth. It's not that Believers won't die, but they will come out of great tribulation and they will be before God forever and every tear will be wiped away.
And in Revelation 10 & 11 between the sounding of the 6th and 7th trumpet we read of the mission of the church in the midst of great pressure, suffering and difficulty. The church may look dead as far as the world sees her, but it is in just such times that God breathes fresh life into his church and she stands tall once again (see Rev 11:12)
Whatever plagues and troubles now we will witness a final victory when the 7th trumpet sounds:
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah and he will reign for ever and ever.